Edmonston, Maryland has a new green mainstreet

“Green Streets for All”

Edmonston, Maryland has redesigned their main street from a very wide, straight-as-a-stick bituminous roadway to a “complete street” that solves much of the local flooding problems with bio-retention. This system captures and treats the runoff from 90% of the storm events. 

At the same time, the redesign provides pedestrian access, bike lanes, bump outs and road alignment offsets.  Taking it one step further, they added wind powered LED street lighting and large shade trees.  To add icing to the cake, the website will allow downloading of free open-source design plans including cad files and plug-in, thus the title “Green Streets for All.”

Read more here.

Earl Ophoff is a registered landscape architect in Midwestern Consulting’s Ann Arbor, Michigan office.  You can reach Earl and talk to him about non-motorized pathways and green designs at 734.995.0200.

More spending on campus is needed for FY 2011

With the current Michigan state fiscal year budget in a mess and the prospects for FY 2011 looking just as grim, how can we in the design and construction profession hold out any hope that a higher education capital outlay bill might get approved for FY 2011?

Despite operating budget deficits, it turns out the key is the ability of the state to finance the state building authority bonds used to finance these badly needed projects.  According to a source at the Senate Fiscal agency, there is room in the SBA program for a substantial capital outlay program for FY 2011. 

The only problem is politics.

While construction projects at public universities and community colleges stimulate local economies and add badly needed jobs to the communities, Lansing politicains seem to be worried more about positioning themselves for the election in November.

We would like to see a capital outlay bill for FY 2011.  Goodness knows Michigan’s  colleges and universities need new and renovated structures.  And we in Michigan’s design and construction industry would love to tackle these new technical projects so badly needed on our campuses today.

The main sections to achieve points in are:

• Smart Location and Linkage
• Neighborhood Pattern and Design
• Green Infrastructure and Buildings
• Innovation and Design Process
• Regional Priority Credit

Based on the various credits, one of the primary goals of this rating system is to develop larger concepts of a community and how all the individual pieces work together.  It is an extension of many credits that are already a part of the LEED for New Construction system (LEED-NC), specifically the Sustainable Sites points section. 

It will take a little time to fully digest all the aspects of this rating system, but the key concepts have already begun to be used by Midwestern Consulting on recently started projects and will hopefully continue to be a guiding light for future developments. 

Scott Fisher is an engineer at Midwestern Consulting in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  He is LEED-AP and can be reached at 734.995.0200.

The Michigan Legislature passed the Complete Streets transportation legislation yesterday.  Governor Granholm is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

The legislation is designed to make transportation engineers and city planners think about the needs of users of roadways other than motorists – mainly bicyclists and walkers.  If any of you have had the misfortune of riding your bike in the street and having rude motorists hog the roadway or honk at you in anger you know where this legislation is aimed.

We generally support this new design effort.  But what will it mean to cities, counties and townships?  Will the costs of acquiring new ROW access for sidewalks or bike paths, and their related constructon costs, be worth the effort to encourage residents to ditch their cars? 

If Michigan’s transportation engineers and city planners are serious in their efforts to promote a healthier lifestyle through walking and bicycle riding, there needs to be safe non-motorized pathways for people to use. 

But, we ask, at what cost?

What do you think?  Please leave a comment on this site.

Connection Charges for Fire Service Connections   (Effective 1/1/09)

A recent project included two hotels on one parcel.  Big money was saved on fees by eliminating one fire suppression tap.  Fire suppression was provided by extending the proposed 6” water line from one hotel to the other saving the owner $103,260.

A second project included three rental apartment buildings with a total of 896 bedrooms on one parcel. One 8” tap and a booster pump replaced three 8” taps reducing City fees by $406,880.

This concept can be used in the City of Ann Arbor where there are multiple buildings under the same ownership on a single parcel.  For example, a privately owned office park, a commercial or academic campus, or a retail center with multiple structures and tenants could be designed this way to save big money on tap, connection, and meter charges.

Earl Ophoff, LSA, is a registered landscape architect and senior project manager with Midwestern Consulting, Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Call Earl at 734.995.0200.

Ann Arbor Administrative Amendments (A4) to approved site plans permit increased building square footage of up to 10 percent of the approved floor area, or 10,000 square feet (sf), whichever is less.  An A4 is approved by staff, does not require a full site plan, Planning Commission, citizens participation, or City Council meetings. 

Larger additions or conversions of excess parking to building square footage can be done incrementally by breaking up proposed floor area increases into phases getting each phase approved separately.  Each phase is subject to the 10 percent/10,000 sf limit.    The additions are not cumulative and can be done in multiple stages that together exceed the 10 percent/10,000 sf maximum.

For example, an existing 100,000 sf retail center with 400 parking spaces now requires 323 to 377 spaces.  Parking could be reduced by up to 77 spaces, building square footage could be increased, or a combination of the two could be done to take advantage of the lower requirements. The maximum increase in building area is 23,870 sf (subject to maximum lot coverage and floor area ratio limits).  This could be done in three Administrative Amendments.

Earl Ophoff, LSA, is a registered landscape architect and senior project manager with Midwestern Consulting, Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Call Earl at 734.995.0200.

Will there be a FY 2011 higher education capital outlay bill?

Michigan House and Senate bills referred to committee in February to finance college and university building and renovation projects are stuck in their respective Appropriations Committees.

Both Senate Bill 1150 and House Bill 5858 seem to be going no where fast.  Each bill contains a “zero budget” for higher education spending.  The legislature needs to get a bill written and on the Governor’s desk by the end of September if there is to be any higher education spending from the state at community colleges and public universities in FY 2011.

Each year, community colleges and universities submit building construction “wish lists” to the state budget office.  If approved, the state pays 75% of the project costs for university projects and 50% of the costs of community college projects. 

The largest request from a university this year is from Wayne State University – $200,000,000 for a new multi-disciplinary Biomedical Research Building.  The largest community college request is from Oakland Community College – $32,065,000 for the interior renovations and additions on Building A in the Auburn Hills campus.

Design engineers, architects and construction trades benefit from the state’s spending on these big projects.  Passage of these bills would provide a huge boost to these employment sectors.

Ann Arbor’s parking space requirements passed in 1999-2000 means fewer spaces needed and more area available for development.

If you own an existing commercial building in Ann Arbor, you may be able to expand your square footage without going through site plan approval.

How’s that?  Ann Arbor’s parking space requirements passed in 1999-2000 means fewer spaces needed and more area available for development.

Office uses approved prior to 1999 were usually designed to meet higher parking count requirements.  Same with commercial uses approved prior to 2000. The reduced requirements create opportunities for additional development including adding square footage to your existing buildings, constructing new buildings, removing parking, or creating outlots.

Existing office and commercial uses in Ann Arbor may now have excess parking spaces that could be converted to additional income producing assets. New parking requirements for office use range from a minimum of 1:333 sf to a maximum of 1:250 sf.  Many office developments prior to 1999 were designed with 1:250 sf and even 1:200 sf. 

New parking requirements for some commercial uses are also given as a range.  Prior to 2000, retail stores and retail centers of under 300,000 sf were often designed with 1:200 sf.  Current reduced requirements range from a minimum of 1:310 sf to a maximum of 1:265 sf.

Another benefit:  new building square footage can be approved administratively, avoiding the higher cost of a full site plan, and the potential for public review, subject to additional limitations.

Earl Ophoff, LSA, is a registered landscape architect and senior project manager with Midwestern Consulting, Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Call Earl at 734.995.0200.

LEED scores soon to incorporate landscape design.

These ecosystem services include global and local climate regulation, air and water cleansing, water supply and regulation, erosion and sediment control, hazard mitigation, pollination, habitat functions, waste decomposition and treatment, human health and well-being benefits, food and renewable non-food products, and cultural benefits.

SITES is a distillation of practices and principles for integrating “ecosystem services” into site development, as described in The Sustainable Sites Initiative: Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009, released on November 5, 2009. It establishes and encourages sustainable practices in landscape design, construction, operations, and maintenance. 

Sustainable landscapes move beyond the typical green building do-no-harm/carbon neutral approach by sequestering carbon, cleaning the air and water, increasing energy efficiency, restoring habitats, and giving back through significant economic, social, and environmental benefits never fully measured until now. The U.S. Green Building Council anticipates incorporating the SITES guidelines and performance benchmarks into future iterations of its LEED® Green Building Rating System™.

SITES provides the first voluntary guidelines and rating system for sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings, and creates an essential missing link in green design.

Earl Ophoff, LSA, is a landscape architect and a senior project manager with Midwestern Consulting, LLC, Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Call Earl at 734.995.0200.